


Work the Problem

by KatiKitten



Category: Leverage
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-05
Updated: 2016-08-07
Packaged: 2018-07-29 08:03:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7676623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatiKitten/pseuds/KatiKitten
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Parker can't quite shake the feeling that something's off, so she tries to figure out what it is, only to feel like she broke their number one rule: don't con your own team. Then she tries to fix it, and to say it gets awkward is putting it mildly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Parker didn't think she understood people, or was good with people _at all_ , but she wasn't allowed to call Sophie to ask for help - stupid "no contact for a year" decision - and Hardison kept telling her that she was better at it than she thought she was, and that Nate had left _her_ in charge for a reason, and that that reason was that she was the best choice for it. Even so, Parker was pretty sure that she was missing something, and what's more, whatever it was she was missing was a pretty big something and it was important.

Right. So. Review the evidence and work the problem. Treat it like a job, but not exactly like one, not completely, because you don't con your own team. That was the number one rule. Well, not of grifting, that one was "You can't con an honest man", but it was _their_ number one rule.

So review the evidence, work the problem, treat it like a job but not like a con. She could do that.

Parker pulled out a notepad and pen, because she liked to make lists, it took hazy things like feelings and emotions, and turned them into words. She could understand words. Parker tapped the pen thoughtfully against her mouth as she tried to decide where to begin.

_"1) Eliot hasn't slept with anyone in months."_

Parker frowned and amended it to _"It looks like Eliot hasn't slept with anyone in months"_ ,because, well, she didn't know for sure whether he was or not. Maybe Hardison would know. Boys talked about that kind of thing, right?

She picked up her phone and texted Alec, **_"Do you know if Eliot has been sleeping with anyone?"_** before thinking through what the difference mattered.

If Eliot wasn't sleeping with anyone, and hadn't been, then it might mean he had his eye on someone. Or he was busy. But if he were and they didn't know, that meant he was making an effort to hide it from them

She hoped Alec knew more than she did.

She needed to write more things down.

A sudden thought hit her and she hastily texted Alec again, **_"Do you think Eliot is lonely?"_**

Because if he was spending his nights alone, he probably was. He didn't even have a Bunny for company like she did.

She knew. She'd asked.

She turned back to her project.

_"2) Eliot watches us, and then looks away when we notice. Sometimes he turns red."_

Okay, but what did that _mean_? She watched him, too, after all, or she wouldn't have noticed that he did that. And of _course_ she watched Alec. She was dating him. That meant she _liked_ him, and you watch the people you like.

Parker blinked, before sending Alec a third text. **_"Do you think Eliot likes us?"_**

It made sense.

She'd worked through the problem, but instead of feeling pride or satisfaction, she felt... sad.

She felt like she'd conned her own team.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If Parker thinks that he's answering her questions in _text_ , his girl is crazy. Because no. Just. No.

If Parker thought that Hardison was going to answer her texts in kind, his girlfriend was crazy. Because no. Just. _No_. This was the kind of thing that you talked about, actually _talked_ about, with words and voices. Not texts.

The first text hadn't been too bad. Hardison didn't know the answer, but he also didn't talk to Eliot about the bootie the other guy got. If Hardison _noticed_ , they'd do the handshake-fist-bump that was _theirs_ , but Hardison didn't always notice and Eliot didn't feel the need to talk about it.

Which Hardison could respect.

The second text, still not too bad. It was a reasonable question, given the first one. Not one that Hardison knew the answer to, mind, but still a reasonable question. Was Eliot lonely? Hell if he knew. If Eliot wanted to hang around, he could. They all three hung out and did movie nights sometimes, and just chilled out after a job. But then Eliot went home or wherever he wanted to go, and that was all that Hardison thought about it because it was none of his business and his Nana taught him to respect people's privacy.

Of course, what Nana didn't know about computers meant that Hardison had a whole world of information at his fingertips that she had no idea about, so he was definitely obeying the letter of that law and not the spirit. Still counted.

It was the last text that made him spit orange soda and a half-chewed gummi frog on his computer. _On his computer_! He'd cleaned it up as best as he could but there are some places orange soda shouldn't go, and he was positive that Veronica was never going to forgive him.

So, no, he wasn't texting Parker, crazy girl. Hardison just went downstairs to talk to her, since they were both home, just working on different things.

"Why all the questions about Eliot?"

Parker looked up at his voice, face blank and giving nothing away. "I think I did a bad thing."

Hardison sat on the couch next to her and opened his arm for a hug - Parker did better when the option for a hug was there but she got to be the one to actually start and end it - and asked, "Does the bad thing have to do with the questions or is it totally unrelated?"

"It's with the questions," Parker closed the distance between them and leaned her head on his chest. "I think we stole an Eliot. A while ago, but especially after Washington. THat's when things really changed, only I didn't notice - I didn't _want_ to notice," she corrected herself. "I don't like change." Hardison stayed quiet, content to just listen while Parker talked it out. Talking wasn't the problem for her, but feelings always made it more difficult. "I was just trying to figure out what was wrong, and I think I figured it out, but I feel like I ran a con and Eliot, and I think I figured something out that he was trying to keep hidden and now I don't know what to do." She let out a quiet sniffle.

Hardison rubbed her back soothingly. "It's okay. We'll figure it out together. I'm here, babygirl, I'm here." 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hardison flirts - badly - and Eliot decides to get to the bottom of whatever is going on.

It took them a little while to decide what to do. The main thing, and Parker was adamant about this, was that it shouldn't be planned. "Planning feels too much like a con," she explained, and Hardison grudgingly agreed.

"Grudgingly" only because when he tried to talk to Eliot with no plan, it was worse than when he'd been an awkward teenager asking out a cheerleader (though at least this time the football team didn't chase him down and leave him in the gym in his underwear). He'd babbled and honestly didn't remember _what_ he'd said to Eliot, nor did he _want_ to remember, thank you very much, ignorance is bliss. And Eliot had just looked at him with the faintly bemused expression, the corners of his eyes crinkling with the smile his mouth wouldn't show and oh holy god, Parker was right and Eliot liked them.

Hardison had just stared at Eliot for a long time before fleeing - and there was no other word for it, it was fleeing - the brewpub for the safety of upstairs.

Just. Kill him now.

Hardison buried his head under his pillow with a groan.

* * *

Eliot sighed and finished his beer at the bar before following Hardison upstairs. He probably shouldn't have been flirting back but had figured that Hardison was trying something new, or was joking around, or _something_ , because come _on_ , he was with Parker now and the two of them _fit_ together and Eliot was _not_ getting in the way of that ever. Sure, Eliot had flirted with them, and more than flirted, but when the two of them had started dating, Eliot had stepped back because they'd both made their choice and he wasn't it. And he was okay with that, because they were good for each other in a way that he knew he wouldn't be.

So, yeah, Hardison had flirted - _badly_ , to clarify - and Eliot had flirted back, but he didn't think it _meant_ anything because why would it?

But, apparently, it had meant something and he'd just messed things up, because if it hadn't meant anything, Hardison wouldn't have run away.

Eliot rapped on the door, his knuckles stinging a bit - he'd done his job a couple days ago, but his hands were still feeling the results of that - and waited for one of the other two to open the door for him. Sure, he had a key, and even if he _hadn't_ had a key he could have gotten in on his own, but... _manners_. It was _rude_ to just let himself in when Hardison had just _run away_ from him.

Parker was the one to open the door, which didn't really surprise Eliot. "He's in the bedroom. You didn't break him, did you?"

"I don't think so?" Eliot shrugged. "Not intentionally, if I did, and I'd rather break someone by trying." Parker nodded in agreement. Eliot decided to ask Parker - most girls, he wouldn't, because they wouldn't want to hear about their boyfriend flirting with someone, but this was _Parker_ , and she wouldn't react like most girls. "D'you know if there's a reason Hardison was flirting with me in the brewpub? Badly, I need to add. Flirting badly."

Her eyes lit up. "Oh, was he? Good!"

That, to put it mildly, was _not_ the reaction that Eliot had anticipated. At all. "What?"

"Did you flirt back? Is that how you might have broken him?" Parker tilted her head at him, almost birdlike in the motion.

"I.... don't know? Maybe?" Eliot ran his hand through his hair, trying to make sense of things.

"You should. Flirt, not break Alec," she attempted to clarify.

It really only left Eliot feeling more confused. "You want me to flirt. With Hardison."

"And with me," Parker stated cheerfully. "You should also flirt with me. And I promise not to break your fingers or stab you with a fork."

Eliot closed his eyes and tried to think. "Parker, can you go get Hardison?" He would have been surprised at how calm he sounded, but it had been earned through hard training.

"Sure," she disappeared into the ceiling rather than take the stairs, but that, at least, was something Eliot was used to. If it wasn't the ceiling and the air vents, she was going out the window to climb the side of the building. Sans harness, because she insisted it wasn't high enough to worry about getting hurt.

Because she was twenty pounds of crazy in a five pound bag, and the wouldn't have her any other way.

Eliot headed to the kitchen while he waited for Parker and Hardison to come back. He was confused as hell, and cooking always made him feel steadier, more in control. He needed that right then.

By the time the other two came downstairs, Eliot had already made the salad and a bruschetta and was making chicken and pasta. "Eat," he pushed the finished food towards them. "Half your salad better be gone before either of you try to talk again."

Hardison started to open his mouth, an apology written on his face, and Eliot stopped him with a grown and a shake of his hand.

Probably should have done it with the hand that didn't have a knife.

Oops.

Eliot busied himself at the stove while they ate, keeping an eye on them out of the corner of his eye. Satisfied that they'd eaten enough to not be weird because of low blood sugar or anything, he kept his voice mild, which meant less growly than normal. "If you guys wanted a threesome, you should have just asked." It wasn't the first time he'd slept with either of them, or both of them, after all. There was no reason to be this weird about it. "But if you're just trying to spice up the bedroom or something, there are better people than me. That you don't work with."

"We don't want a threesome," Hardison kept looking at his salad, like he didn't know where to look so by god he was going to keep his eyes on the salad.

Parker gave Hardison a confused look. "I thought we did?"

"No, a threesome is just a sex thing," he explained to her.

"Oh." Her expression cleared up. "No, we don't want a threesome."

Eliot growled at the chicken he was grilling. "What _do_ you want, then?"

"We want to date you," Parker stated simply. "Both of us. Date you. And you date both of us. We want to play with your hair, and watch movies, and have you cook for us because you like cooking and you like taking care of us and you take care of us by cooking for us, and do everything that we're already doing except with more hugs and stuff, and at night, instead of going home, you come upstairs with us."

Eliot didn't know how to respond, so he turned the chicken over and cut some more tomatoes for the pasta while trying to pick the words to say. "I'm not exactly the dating type," he offered apologetically.

"And I am?" Parker gave him an incredulous look. "I push Alec off buildings because I think it's funny. I like to touch but I don't like to _be_ touched, I've almost hit Alec in the throat at _least_ seven times, I _have_ hit him in the throat four times, I constantly wake him up when I wake up, and some days, I live in the vents. I have a nest. With a blanket." Parker stabbed a carrot with her fork and crunched down on it almost violently, chewing it loudly while looking Eliot in the eyes like it was s taring contest. It probably was, knowing Parker. He met her gaze evenly. "If you don't _want_ to date us, that's fine. We're not going to force you. But don't blame it on not being the dating type because you have your past and I have mine, but at least you're normal."

Eliot tried to protest, "Parker, you're normal-".

She cut him off. "I'm not," Parker gave a small shrug. "And I'm okay with that, because if I were, I wouldn't be me and I wouldn't be as good a thief as I am. It's a trade off and I wouldn't make the trade if I had the choice. But I'm not, and I don't react to things right, and it's just the way it is. Alec has learned to adjust to me. I've learned to adjust to him. You don't like loud noises, you don't like having your exits blocked, you don't like to be touched when you're not expecting it, and you've almost attacked me a coupe times before you realized it was me and calmed down. So no surprise touching and I'll wear a bell or something at home, since I'm not going to _deliberately_ make noise because that's how bad habits start," she shrugged again. "Dating is about compromise, right?"

There were a couple things that Eliot could have said. Like, _"But maybe I don't want to date"_ or something along those lines. Instead, what came out of his mouth was "But why do you want to date _me_?"

Don't think he didn't notice the look that Parker gave Hardison. It was a frantic look, almost panicky, except that Parker didn't do panic. She hadn't panicked when she was trapped by a Sturenko, she hadn't panicked in Washington. The closest she'd come to panicking was when Hardison was buried in that damn casket, and Eliot couldn't blame her there since he'd been close to it himself.

Hardison cleared his throat. "Because we realized that we need you."

"We heard what you told Sophie, before she and Nate left," Parker jumped in again. "That you'd protect us until you're dying day. You don't... _You_ don't say things like that, not unless you mean it." Her face scrunched up as she tried to think through what she was saying. "And we realized that we didn't want you to die, and not just because you're our friend and we care about you, but because you're _you_ , you're _Eliot_ and we don't want to lose you. _I_ don't want to lose you. It would hurt like losing Alec would hurt."

"Aw, hell," Eliot muttered to himself. He already knew he'd lost.

For the first tine in a long while, he didn't hate the idea of losing.

If only it wasn't the wrong choice.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hardison's supposed to be the smart one. Eliot's counting on him to talk sense into Parker.

Parker wasn't sure when she stopped breathing, or even _why_ she had. She was used to being in complete control of her body, and it frustrated her that she'd stopped breathing when she hadn't told it to do that.

"We've already been dating, I think," Parker started talking again to fill the silence. "It was just... incomplete. Because we didn't know that we were. But now we know. But it all depends on you and whether you want to date _us_."

Alec nodded along next to her. She'd worked hard to call him "Alec", because "Hardison" still wanted to roll off her tongue, and when they were working, he was Hardison, but at home, she needed to call him "Alec" because so few people did. It was a small way of saying that he was hers.

It was a big way of saying that she _wanted_ him to be hers.

He understood that, because Alec understood people better than she did. He understood _her_ pretty well. But Eliot got her in a way that Alec never could and that Parker didn't _want_ him to. It was like Eliot had said, in the ice cave. They could do things that the others couldn't. Parker didn't want Alec to have to do some of those things, and if he ever understood those parts of herself that she didn't want him to, it would mean that she hadn't been able to protect him from those things that he couldn't do and stay _him_. Parker wanted him to stay him more than she wanted him to understand.

Eliot tossed his head, trying to get his hair out of his eyes while he stirred the chicken and vegetables. Parker and Alec shared a look, and he nodded at her to go ahead and do it, so Parker slid off the stool. "You don't have to decide right now, you know," she spoke mostly to give Eliot warning that she was coming over, because she knew he didn't like to be surprised, before pulling his hair back gently and securing it with the ponytail holder she kept in her pocket in case she needed it.

Eliot leaned into her hand just a little bit. "You have no idea. What you're offering. _Who_ you're offering it to." His blue eyes were cold, but not in anger.

It hurt Parker in the chest to realize that they were cold because of fear. "We know who we're offering it to." Alec moved to stand beside her, slipping his hand into hers so that they could both put their hands on Eliot's shoulder together. "You're Eliot. You'd do anything for a kid, you'd protect us no matter what. You hurt people when you have to, you don't when you don't unless it's Sterling or someone that deserves it, you protect innocents as well as you can, you cook for us because that's how you show us you care, you make popcorn for movie night even though you hate my microwave popcorn, you make us eat vegetables but you still let me eat my Sugar O's because you know that it makes me happy." She squeezed his shoulder a little. "We know who we're offering it to," she repeated quietly.

"Damn it, Hardison!" Eliot turned to Alec, as though expecting to find an ally there. "Talk some sense into your girl."

Alec raised an eyebrow at Eliot. "I _know_ you did not just tell me to do that."

"Come on, you have to know what a bad idea this is," Eliot shifted, becoming more dense or something that Parker could see but not put a name to.

"You'd think, but apparently, I'm just as crazy as our girl, here," Alec stepped closer to Eliot. "And you _know_ I ran a background on you when we first started working together. If anyone knows what you've done, it's me."

"Then why do you want me anywhere _near_ you two?" Eliot burst out, stepping away from the stove and closer to them, invading their space. "If you know what I've done, not just what I'm _capable_ of, but what I've _done_ , why the _hell_ do you want to stay close to me? Why do you think this is a good idea? Damn it, Hardison, you're supposed to be the smart one!"

"Because that's not who you are," Alec kept his voice calm and even, like he did when Parker was antsy and needed to get _out_. "The things you've done, they ain't good. But you don't need me to tell you something you already know. What you _do_ need me to tell you is that we don't care. We don't care who you've been or what you've done, other than how it affects you. We care about _you_. The you that's had our back for five years. That's been our friend. That's saved Parker's ass so many times and mine even more. That took a bullet for Parker in Washington so she could get the briefcase off the train and kill it with fire. That's the you that we..." Alec trailed off, looking over to Parker.

Parker swallowed hard, but continued what Alec had been saying. "It's the you that we kind of love." Eliot's eyes met hers, wide with fear and panic, and she kept going. "You don't have to say it back. It's not the kind of thing you say to hear back. We just... had to get it out there. We love you. _I_ love you. So. Now you know." She stepped back, pulling Alec with her. "Is the food burning?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if anyone feels that there's a lack of Hardison. For whatever reason, Parker and Eliot felt more like talking here.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes losing feels an awful lot like winning.

Eliot had gone home - _alone_ , mind you - to do some thinking.

Well, that's what he said. What he was actually doing was packing his things.

He'd had a Bug Out Bag ever since he'd left the military, with a bag on hand or close to hand with everything he'd need for a new life. A new identity, clothes, knives, and a set of kitchen knives. For the last two years, he'd had three bags on hand because he couldn't even think about leaving the other two behind. But now his hand had been forced and he needed to _get out **now**_ while he could, before it would hurt Parker and Hardison too much.

He should have left when Sophie did, but Parker had been so lost. When Sophie finally came back, he should have left, but Nate was in prison.

And then they had to go after Damien Moreau, and Eliot couldn't leave them to do that alone.

He should have gotten out before, though, because now it was going to hurt. It was going to hurt them and he already knew it was going to hurt him.

He'd made a promise to Sophie that he shouldn't have made, and now he was going to break it.

But he didn't have any other choice. He needed to get out, leave, do a clean break, before things got worse.

And they were _going_ to get worse.

Packing wasn't the part that took him a while. That was easy. Eliot felt like he'd lived most of his life out a duffel bag, and it had been nice to hang things up in the same place most nights, but it wasn't hard to get the duffel out of the back of the closet and pack it up. Anything he didn't take, Hardison could get rid of.

As much as he knew he should just leave as soon as he was packed, he couldn't bring himself to leave without saying anything.

Which was what was taking the while. He was trying to write them a note - not a letter, he wasn't the hero of some romcom - where he could say goodbye, and was coming up with butkis on what to say.

After what seemed like forever but was probably less than fifteen minutes, Eliot growled and scrawled out a simple _"I'm sorry"_ and taped it to the television screen that Hardison had bought for him.

 _I'm sorry for leaving._  
_I'm sorry I can't stay._  
_I'm sorry I can't be what you need me to be._  
_I'm sorry I can't give you what you want._  
_I'm sorry I can't ask for what **I** want._  
_I'm sorry I'm not better._  
_I'm sorry for not saying goodbye._

Eliot shouldered his duffel and left through the kitchen, locking the door behind him, the key already off the keyring. Eliot had five rocks that could hide a key, with random keys in each one, but Parker and Hardison knew that he hid a key behind the shutter of a second story window; if someone was that determined to find it, they deserved access to the house. It didn't take him long to scale the wall and hide the key, and he dropped back down to the ground as close to silently as he could manage.

 _Parker would have been quieter,_ he couldn't help but think, but he maintained that Parker was part cat and that's why she was the only person who could actually sneak up on him.

Eliot picked his bag back up with another sigh and turned towards his truck -

Only to let out a muffled yelp because Parker was standing _right behind him_.

"I told Hardison you were going to leave," she crossed her arms in front of her chest but her face was blank. "He said you wouldn't without saying goodbye. Were you going to say goodbye?"

Eliot winced. "Sorta?"

"How do you 'sort of' say goodbye, Eliot? You either say goodbye or you don't." She tilted her head at him, blonde hair glinting in the moonlight.

Eliot glared at her, not enjoying being on the defensive, even though he spent a lot of time like that. "I left a note."

Parker nodded, seeming to accept the answer. "Are you running because of us? Because of the whole feelings thing? Because we can ignore feelings." She gave him a sudden grin. "I have a lot of practice at that."

"Ignoring them isn't always enough," Eliot attempted to explain, without his typical growl.

"Sure it is," Parker shrugged, her face returning to it's blank slate state. "If you don't like the way you feel, change it. If you don't like the way someone else feels, ignore it and figure out how to make them change it."

"That hasn't worked for _any_ of us," Eliot pointed out, setting the bag down because it looked like they were going to have a whole conversation, so he might as well settle in and get comfortable.

Parker gave him a _are you **serious**_ look. "None of us actually _tried_ it. Nate and Sophie weren't ignoring it, they were just trying to not let _us_ know."

"And you _liked_ your feelings for Hardison?" Eliot crossed his own arms, eyebrow raised in a challenge.

"I didn't try to change them," Parker shrugged. "They scared me, and I wasn't always sure if I liked them or hated them, but loving Hardison is easy. Letting him love me is the hard part. Loving him belongs to me. Those are _my_ feelings, and if I don't want to, I don't have to. It's a lot harder to not run away any time I freak out over how _he_ feels." She gave him a small shrug. "You're freaking out over how we feel. If you want to run, I'm not going to stop you. But you should actually say goodbye to Hardison or he'll track you down just to yell at you. And he might screw with any of your cards, because he'll be mad. And hurt. And I don't like when Hardison gets hurt."

Eliot sighed and picked his bag back up. "God damn it, go get my key so we can go inside. We both know you'll be faster."

Parker beamed at him and started climbing the bricks.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hardison has spent _time_ breaking Eliot's couch in until it fits him just right, and you'd think that would say something, but apparently it doesn't. Hardison is pretty sure that a lot of the girls on the internet are right, and that boys are stupid.

Hardison shifted on the couch, trying to wriggle into the right spot where the cushions supported him _perfectly_. Hardison had spent a lot of time breaking in Eliot's couch until it fit him just right, okay? It had taken multiple movie nights, and now no one else sat in Hardison's spot because otherwise, he'd have to break it back in.

Honestly, the fact that _Eliot_ didn't even sit in Hardison's spot should have been a clue, but Hardison was pretty sure that all those girls on the internet were right, and that boys were stupid.

"I can't believe you were just going to leave." Hardison tried to glare at Eliot, but he was well aware that the hitter was far more intimidating than Hardison could hope to be. "I owe Parker fifty bucks now, man. God damn."

Eliot cocked an eyebrow at him. "I can't believe you bet on me like that."

"I can't believe you're surprised that we did." Parker was perched on the arm of Eliot's chair. Hardison had his spot, and Eliot... didn't have a single spot, since it was _his house_ , but his chair was where he sat most of the time. Parker didn't even have "a couple spots". She sat wherever she felt like sitting, sometimes on people's _feet_ (which was just gross because feet are _nasty_ ), and would move from one spot to another whenever she got the desire, which seemed to be _all the time_.

"Oh, I'm not surprised that you two would bet on me. I'm surprised that Hardison took the bet," Eliot clarified.

Parker nodded at Eliot's explanation. "That makes sense. Hardison should know not to bet against me when I say that someone's going to run." She focused back on Hardison. "I always know when someone's going to run. It's like a twelfth sense."

"Whatever. And what kind of lame-ass apology was that? You could have at least said what you were sorry _for_." Hardison crossed his arms and burrowed into the leather cushion. "Not even saying goodbye, leaving a lame note, not even saying what the apology is for, you're lucky you didn't grow up with Nana, because she woulda put up with _none_ of that shit. I should take you to her and let her teach you some _manners_."

Eliot shared a wide-eyed look with Parker, and don't think Hardison didn't notice, because he did. He noticed more than they thought he did sometimes. "Hardison-"

"Parker told me you were going to run," Hardison interrupted Eliot before Eliot could really say anything. "She told me, and I was just like 'nah, Parker, he wouldn't do that, he wouldn't leave without saying goodbye because he knows that _some_ of us have _abandonment issues_ and freak out when people leave without saying anything, and _Eliot_ wouldn't _do_ that to us."

Oh, look, the wide eyes were getting even wider. "Hardison-"

"And _then_ she asked me how sure I was and if I'd bet on it and I said of _course_ I would because Eliot and me, we have a bond, we sang in Lucille, about two good boys chasing down bad guys in Lucille, and Eliot wouldn't just _leave_ like that." Hardison knew that he wasn't making much sense anymore but he was on a _roll_ and Eliot could _suck it_ and deal with the not sense making.

Eliot looked to Parker for help and she shook her head. "You know the rules. Whoever breaks the Alec has to fix the Alec. I don't think orange soda and gummi frogs are going to be enough this time, though." She leaned in and whispered loud enough for Hardison to hear her, "He's _really_ mad."

"Thanks, Parker, I gathered that." Eliot focused back on Hardison. "I freaked, okay?"

"Not okay! Not okay! We _talk_ when we get freaked! You have the most experience with relationships, I can not be the only adult in this relationship!" Hardison shook his finger at Eliot. "Parker is skittish of talk about feelings. We finally got her on a pretty even keel and now you go and try to _abandon_ us because you got _freaked out_ and _you didn't even say goodbye!_ "

Parker kind of pushed Eliot, which was apparently the nudge he needed because he was up and out of the chair and moving to sit next to Hardison on the couch, Parker following on his heels. "I'm allowed to freak out, Hardison."

"Of _course_ you're allowed. But you don't just _leave_. What happened to 'until my dying day'? Or 'for better or for worse, we change together'?" Hardison poked Eliot in the chest. "Get freaked. Get _space_ if that's what you need. But don't just _leave_. That's not cool."

"I told you. You break him, you fix him," Parker murmured in Eliot's ear.

"How do I fix him?" Eliot muttered back to Parker.

Hardison ignored their "conversation" and glowered at Eliot. "You don't leave with no plans to come back."

"I would have come back," Eliot spoke quietly.

Hardison kept up the glower. "It sure looks like you weren't planning on that."

"I wasn't," Eliot shrugged. "But I would have come back. A week from now, a month, six months, I don't know, but I would have come back."

"You've missed people before without going back to them," Hardison pointed out.

Eliot shrugged. "They weren't you guys."

Hardison could feel his mad slipping away and he softened a little. Just a little. He was still mad at Eliot, after all.

Parker beamed at Eliot. "See? You knew how to fix Alec after all."


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Home isn't always a place, sometimes it's people.

Parker perched on the other side of Eliot. The three of them were sitting on the couch and she and Alec had made the unspoken decision to have Eliot in the middle.

She was just glad that Eliot wasn't leaving.

Parker was trying to keep herself from touching Eliot, and kept clenching and unclenching her fingers. Eliot didn't always like to be touched, like her, and talking about feelings always made him uncomfortable, and Parker didn't want to make it worse.

"I would have come back," Eliot repeated quietly, like he couldn't believe it himself.

Parker had to resist the urge to pet Eliot's arm. "Of course you would have. You came back after the Davids. You came back after Moreau. You always come back."

"No," Eliot met her gaze steadily, "I don't always come back."

Parker reached her hand out and touched his knee lightly, prepared to draw back if she needed to. "You always come back to us," she stated simply.

Eliot glanced down at her hand and put his own hand on top of hers. "I guess I do," his voice came out quiet and rough.

"We always come back, too," Alec stacked his hand on top of Eliot's. "We don't seem to stay away for very long."

Eliot let out a small chuckle. "Sorry for trying to leave."

"You can leave whenever you need. Long as you say goodbye." Alec shrugged. "Also if you can give warning that you're going to leave, that would be great, so that we can plan jobs around that."

"I can't guarantee I'll handle things well." Eliot played with a hole in his jeans.

Alec shrugged again. "You don't have to. Just. Talk to us if you need time or space or whatever. We can't give you something we don't know you need."

"I'll try to not disappear without warning. I still can't make any promises," Eliot warned. "I meant it when I said I'm not the dating type. The last girl I dated was Aimee, and we know how that turned out."

"But she doesn't hate you anymore," Parker spoke cheerfully. "So it could be worse?" Eliot just stared at her for a long moment. "You had hay dust all over your clothes, Eliot. I know what you two got up to in there. I don't know how you were able to do that with the _horses_ there, watching you. And stables aren't the most sanitary places for that. She probably wound up with hay and dust in very uncomfortable places. It's like sex on a beach. Sounds good in theory but you're never able to take enough showers to get rid of the sand."

"There's something wrong with you," Eliot shook his head, though the tone was affectionate. Parker simply shrugged cheerfully at him in response.

"Well. We can cross that off the list of things that were on my bucket list, because now I have no desire for that at all," Alec was giving her the "I don't want to know" look, which meant that Parker was not allowed to tell him. Even if she found it funny.

 _Especially_ if she found it funny.

"But Aimee doesn't hate you," Parker repeated. "And that was when you first enlisted. You've changed. So maybe you _are_ the relationship type now."

Eliot shrugged, his hair falling around his face. "I doubt it. I haven't slept, actually _slept_ with someone in years, because I don't really sleep through the night."

"That's okay," Parker assured him. "I don't sleep, either, and Alec puts up with me."

"Long as you don't kick like a damn mule when you wake up I can deal," Alec agreed. "I have crossword puzzles stashed around if you like them. Parker cheats at them."

"How can you cheat at crossword puzzles?" Eliot's growl was back.

Parker grinned at him. "Internet. I cheat at any game, if I can. Cheating is part of the strategy."

"That's not how it works." Eliot just kind of _stared_ at her.

"I tried telling her that," Alec shook his head in mock disapproval. "But I have to admit, her way is more fun."

Parker put her head on Eliot's shoulder. "Are we convincing you to see if you're the relationship type? I want to know what other arguments you have. Is it that you didn't expect to live this long? Because if you didn't, that's no reason to not date us now. You're alive now. Take today as it is, and deal with tomorrow when it comes up."

"We need to ban you from fortune cookies," Eliot muttered.

Parker narrowed her eyes at him. "I like my fortune cookies. They don't really predict the future, but I like the things they say. Like, today is a gift, that's why they call it the present."

"You're not helping your case here, Parker," Eliot pointed out.

"You haven't answered her question, man. Are we convincing you?" Alec studied Eliot carefully, obviously trying to hold still and not push into Eliot's space, physical or metaphorical.

Eliot let out a heavy sigh. "You guys deserve better than me," he answered softly.

"If it came down to what we deserve, we'd be in prison several times over," Parker pointed out. "We help people _now_ , but it's relatively new. I don't care what I deserve. I've always taken what I wanted, if I could get away with it." She leaned forwards, having none of Alec's qualms about pushing into Eliot's space. "Can I get away with taking you?"

Eliot kind of... softened, letting out a small laugh. "Parker. You got away with taking me a long time ago. I just didn't want to admit it."

"Do we both have you, then?" Alec was smiling at Eliot, waiting for the answer that he seemed to already know.

Eliot leaned backwards into the sofa, draping an arm around each of them carefully, as though he wasn't sure if he was allowed to or not. Parker curled herself in against the hard planes of Eliot's body, and she could see Alec shifting around to get comfortable as well. "You both have me. For as long as you want me."

Parker and Alec exchanged a high five and Alec smiled with his whole body, which was Parker's favourite kind of Alec smile. "You got us. For as long as you want us," Parker promised. "For better or worse, we change together." _Together_ seemed to have a heavier weight than the first time she'd said it, but it also felt _right_.

"Together," Eliot agreed with a soft smile.

"Damn straight," Alec nodded. "I'm still taking you to meet Nana, though. She'll get some manners drilled into you."

"Damn it, Hardison, I'm not going to meet your Nana," Eliot growled.

Parker draped her legs over Eliot's lap and got comfortable. They'd go back and forth for a while, before Eliot would agree to meet Alec's nana for Thanksgiving or Christmas, which was long enough away to not worry about it. She hummed happily to herself.

It felt like the homiest home she'd ever had, and it wasn't because of the place. It was because Eliot and Alec were her home, and now things were okay, home was how it was supposed to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was supposed to be three chapters and maybe, _maybe_ three thousand words. I've been calling this "the story that would not die" because I kept thinking it would be the last chapter, and then nope, it wasn't.
> 
> Until finally it was.
> 
> This is my first Leverage fic, and thank you for reading it. I've enjoyed it, even while cursing the story, and I'm sure that this won't be my last one.


End file.
